EU decides on key EUR90bn Ukraine loan after pipeline deadlock ends1 hour agoPaul KirbyEurope digital editorReutersEuropean Union ambassadors are meeting in Cyprus with expectations high that a EUR90bn (PS78bn) EU loan seen as vital support for Ukraine can finally be paid out after months of deadlock.The funding was agreed last December, but Hungary’s Viktor Orban slapped a veto on the payment in February in a row over supplies of Russian oil that came to a halt through a pipeline in Ukraine.Ukraine said an oil hub on the Druzhba pipeline was damaged in Russian strikes, but Orban demanded the oil start flowing again before the loan could be paid out.The EU believes the deadlock is about to end as Ukraine says the pipeline has been repaired.Orban’s election defeat last Sunday has also cleared the air for the EU, bringing to an end his 16-year era as Hungarian prime minister. Peter Magyar has made it a priority to reset Budapest’s strained relations with Brussels. Kaja Kallas, EU’s chief of foreign policy, said that she expected positive decisions on the EUR90bn loans ahead of the meeting with ambassadors. “Ukraine needs this loan, and it’s a sign that Russia can’t outlast Ukraine. “We will no longer block the loan approval as soon as oil is delivered through the pipeline,” said Orban, acting as caretaker until early next month. In the lead-up to Hungary’s bitterly contested elections this month, Orban had accused Ukraine of imposing a “oil blockade”. He claimed that the EU worked with Kyiv to work against him. Satellite images at the time indicated substantial damage to a large oil tank in Brody, western Ukraine, in late January. Kyiv had said that repairs would take time, and added that its engineers were under Russian attack. Meanwhile, Ukraine has targeted oil facilities in Russia, including a Samara region pumping station linked to the Druzhba Pipeline this week. Zelensky was portrayed alongside Magyar on campaign posters in Hungary with the message “They are dangerous!” “Zelensky said that late on Tuesday, he had discussed the unblocking of the loan with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Antonio Costa, head the European Council who represents the 27 members states. Zelensky stated that there was no reason to block the loan any longer. “The EU asked Ukraine for the repair of the Druzhba Oil Pipeline, which was destroyed by Russia. We have repaired it. We hope that the EU will also fulfill its commitments. The Ukrainian media reported that even if the EU loan was finally agreed, it would still take several weeks for funding to arrive in Kyiv.
